What organic food to buy: The Dirty Dozen & Clean fifteen

I have mentioned before that I have been recently transitioning into an all organic (where possible), toxin free lifestyle. A lot of people think that they like the idea of having all organic food but think it is too expensive and so therefore not practical. When I think about it, it is worth it and I have made that choice in my life. But if for you, you are cooking for a family or don’t have a farmers market nearby there is a list called the Dirty Dozen and Clean fifteen which you can go by to ease your way into it.

Updated every year, the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide Dirty Dozen list is based on laboratory tests done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Pesticide Testing Program. But Strawberries, sorry to break it to you seem to always appear in this list!

These lists provide the fruits and vegetables which in the dirty dozen provide the most pesticide residue. The Clean fifteen are deemed as the most “safe” in terms of pesticide contamination. So if you want to buy “organic” stick mainly to the dirty dozen list, even just as a starting point.

Don’t let this list scare you. Whilst I personally have switched to organic where ever possible, I am not perfect, and I do not freak out if I go out for lunch and dinner knowing the food is not organic. Also I think it’s important to think about your food budget and to place a certain amount of $$$ which are your organic dollars. So use these dollars to buy a few items from the Dirty List that you will use through out the week. Don’t make it complicated, but try think about reducing the overall load of toxins you are putting in your body.

You can see my video where I make my “organic” cashew fermented chere here.

You can watch my Organic supermarket walk through to see some of my favourite products here.

This is something I am really passionate about bringing awareness too. And you will probably hear me banging on a lot about it… Sorry